Room 302 of the Past
by innocent passerby
Summary: Henry and Eileen decide to take a short break in the safety of Room 302 of the Past. (If you don't know what I am talking about, it may be a spoiler for SH4) [Come on, there isn't enough HenryEileen love]


Eileen trudged behind Henry in agonizing attempt to keep up with his hurried pace. It seemed like these staires were never ending, and every time they ended before just lead them through more horrors than before. With each new spiral stairwell awoke more fears and bloodshed. This particular stairwell was especially horrifying.

The walls on the outside of the stairs were almost completely eroded with rust and gaping holes. Eileen could see pieces of dead bodies hanging some few yards away. The smell was nauseating. Eileen thought she would get used to the odor of decay and blood over time, but it only seemed to get less tolerable as the clock ticked by.

On top of that, Eileen was getting the feeling that she wasn't entirely in control over her body. Every so often, Eileen would feel chills down her spine like the fingertips of a demon clawing down her back. Eileen knew it must be Him, the one that was behind it allWalter Sullivan, the man who had attacked her in her apartment. When the chills would overcome Eileen, she felt like she was only half conscious and she heard her own voice speak Walter's words. Eileen had never been possessed before, so she had no idea how to fight it, so she just waited for the spells to subside on their own. Luckily she hadn't attacked her companion yet.

Eileen whimpered as her leg gave her a shot of pain in protest to her pace. Eileen called after Henry, "Please, don't leave me alone..." Eileen knew that all she had to do was bring attention to her discomfort and it would make Henry slow down to her pace for a few minutes. Henry was a gentleman after all.

Eileen caught up to her escort, and took a moment to realize that they had made it to the bottom of the staires. As expected, there was a door waiting for them. They had been through the same routine numerous times before, but this time it was different. The door here was engraved with the numbers 3 0 2, and it looked remarkably like the doors from South Ashfield Heights.

Eileen watched as Henry opened the door, and held her breath as they entered together. The room was lit by many white candles and there were notes scattered about all over. Inside the room, Eileen felt a little more control of her person.

Eileen watched in silence as Henry gathered the pieces of paper, and listened to him read them aloud. Eileen could hear Henry's voice but not the words he was speaking. It was as if Henry had learned a new language that only he could understand, or maybe it was just because of that tugging feeling that she felt in the back of her mind. Eileen mindlessly followed Henry to the bedroom where he found and read a few more notes, then it was back into the livingroom.

A strange thing happened in the livingroom... She saw a man come from the ceiling. The man spoke to Henry, but it sounded like the same language that Henry used to read the letters. Eileen watched in awe for a moment, then looked at Henry... The language sounded so demonic. The language scared her, but she kept quiet and let the man speak to Henry. Eileen was even more worried when Henry took a glance at her, she could see fear in his eyes. Was this man telling lies about her to get Henry to kill her?

It seemed like a long time before the man stopped talking to Henry. Eileen was still scared, and she was hurting badly. Even though she was scared, this room did feel safer than any other place that they had been in since they were in St. Jerome's Hospital.

"Henry," Eileen touched Henry's elbrow with her good hand as he started to walk towards the bathroom. Eileen's voice was slightly pleading and her eyes matched.

Henry paused and turned his attention towards her. Henry looked worried. Was Henry worried about her? Or was it about what the man had said to him?

Eileen waited for a response, but none came. Henry had always been the shy type it seemed, it was probably why she hardly knew anything about him even though they had lived next to eachother for over a year. "I need to rest, just a little bit, please. I hurt all over. . . I'm exhausted. I. . . I don't know how long I can follow you unless I get to rest. Even if it's just an hour."

Henry's eyes were sympathetic, but he shook his head. "We don't have time. . . The longer we wait, the stronger He will be. It'll just be a little bit longer, I think it'll be over soon."

Eileen could feel the hot sting of tears in her eyes, but she willed them away as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Please, just a few minutes. I hurt so much. It's hard for me to focus, and I feel like I might be. . . No, nevermind, let's just go." Eileen took a deep breath, she was about to admit to that dark feeling she had about being possessed.

"No, what is it, Eileen?" Henry looked really concerned now, he turned his body fully to face her.

Eileen shook her head again and gave him a forced smile. "It's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all," she lied.

Henry didn't look convinced. Henry let out a sigh and gave a shrug of his shoulders, "I guess it can't be helped. You look really tired, I know I am. Maybe an hour won't be so bad," Henry gave a look around the brightly lit apartment room. "I guess it does feel safer here than anywhere else we've been. If we don't take an hour here, we probably won't get another chance, huh?"

Eileen felt her heart jump a little and she smiled a real smile. "An hour won't be that bad, we both need it," she tried to hide how relieved she really was, but she didn't do a good job on it.

Henry smiled back at her and reached a tentative hand over to take hers. "We'll have to deal with sitting somewhere in the middle of the room, I don't think it would be wise to move any of the candles."

Eileen felt the blush creep into her cheeks and she was surprised she had enough blood left to blush. She squeazed Henry's hand a little and gave a slight nod of her head, then she followed him to the livingroom floor.

Henry helped Eileen sit down first, then took the spot next to her. Henry was cautious to sit close, but not too close to Eileen. It felt nice to rest his aching legs and back. Henry put the rusted axe he had been carrying next to him and stretched out his muscles.

Eileen winced as she sat, but looked very relieved once she was on the floor. Eileen took a deep breath and sighed, then leaned over towards her unsuspecting partner, resting some of her weight against him. Eileen smirked to herself as she watched his face go beet red. "You're such a nice guy, Henry. It's a shame we didn't become friends sooner."

Henry awkwardly put his arm around Eileen's smaller frame and gave her a shy smile. "I've never been that good at starting conversations."

Eileen nodded her head and rested it on Henry's chest. Her hair tickled his chin, but he didn't move away from it. "You're just shy. I always thought you were a snob, to be honest, but now I know it's just because you're shy."

Henry didn't know how to respond; he felt mildly insulted, but at the same time he was glad that she had come to the conclusion that she did.

"Hey, Henry," Eileen broke the silence again, "I know this may sound a little weird, but do you have a girlfriend?"

Henry was taken aback by the sudden question. The red in his face deepened a shade as he shook his head. "N-no, I don't have a girlfriend. . ."

Eileen smiled to herself. "That's good" Eileen quickly interrupted herself, "No, I don't mean it's good that you don't have someone, but what I mean is. . . Well, when we get out of here, maybe we could go catch a movie or something. You're a really sweet guy, and I'd just like to get to know you a little better when this is all over."

Henry couldn't help but smile as he listened to her words. Henry wasn't used to girls asking him out, especially not girls as popular as Eileen seemed to be, but he liked Eileen too. He did think she was cute when he had first met her, which was why he had been so shy around her in the first place. Also, he was glad to hear her sound so optimistic about things. He had been starting to lose a little of his own hope, but hearing Eileen sound so sure restored it. "I'd like that, Eileen," he answered after a moment of thinking.

Eileen smiled more and looked up at Henry. She stared at him for a few long seconds before scooting a little closer and leaning up to give him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you so much. . . I couldn't have come this far without you."

Henry was surprised again, but this time his answer was a shake of his head. "You don't have to thank me." Henry sighed and sat a little straighter. Henry had to relocate his hands to keep Eileen supported, but he stopped when he noticed a wince on her face. "Eileen? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she answered truthfully, "It just hurts a little where your hand is. I'm fine now though, I just wasn't expecting it."

Henry was relieved. Henry stood up slowly and stretched again, then held a hand down to Eileen. "I know it was a short break, but we should finish this before we get too comfortable. It'll be easier this way."

Eileen pouted a moment for taking Henry's hand and helping herself up. "I know, I just wish I could open my eyes and wake up from this nightmare."

"Well, let's hope that we can end this nightmare soon. It won't be long now, I promise." Henry bent down to get his axe after Eileen had regained her balance. Henry gave her one last smile before going to the wall and prying the pickaxe with "hope" carved into the handle.


End file.
